Draft appliance



F. J. TRUMPOUR. DRAFT APPLIANCE.

APPLICATIONTILED JUNE 25. i919.

1,353,094, PatentedSept. 14, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- Sept. 14,1920. SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented F. J. TRUMPOUR.

. DRAFT APPLIANCE.

APPLICATIOIII FILED JUNE 25, 1919.

avwewtoz UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK J. TRUlVIPOUR, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

DRAFT APPLIANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patentgd Sept, 14 192() Application filed June 25, 1919.

Serial No. 306,751.

(FILED UNDER THE ACT OF MARCH 3, 1883, 22 STAT. L, 625.)

To all whom/2'1 may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK J. TRUMP- oUR, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Washington, District of Columbia, have invented an Improvement in Draft Appliances, of which the following is a specification.

The invention described herein may be used by the Government, or any of its officers or employees in prosecution of work for the Government, or by any other person in the United States, without payment of any royalty thereon.

My invention relates to improvements in draft appliances, and is specifically a connection or coupling, capable of use in many situations, but particularly useful and de sirable in providing a draft coupling between a trailer and tractor.

One object of my invention is the provision of a coupling which may be instantly coupled or released; which will absolutely prevent accidental uncoupling; which will accommodate itself to the character of the road over which the vehicle travels; and,

which will be of simple, compact, durable and of inexpensive construction.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a draft coupling which will operate with ease and facility in effecting the coupling and release movements; which will retain the parts in proper position under all conditions of service, which will properly distribute the strains, wear and tear upon the parts and prevent damage or breakage, and which generally from every point of view will prove highly efficient and practical.

With the attainment in view of the objects stated, and such others as are inherent to a device of this character, my invention consists of a draft coupling embodying novel features of construction and combination of parts for service substantially as shown, described and particularly defined and distinguished by the claims.

In order that the construction in detail of my improvement and its operation may be fully understood, as well as its features of merit and numerous advantages be appreciated, I have shown in the accompanying drawings a draft coupling constructed according to my invention, it of course being understood that any changes may be made in the structure which fall within the scope of the claims.

In said drawings Figure l reperesents a top plan view of a draft coupling embodying my invention.

1g. 2 represents a side elevation of the device.

Fig. 3 represents a side elevation of the manually operated lever and the latch or catch operatively connected to said lever, showing in full lines the position the parts occupy when the latch retains the coupling link in the draft hook, and in dotted lines the position the parts assume when the lever is raised and the latch is elevated to permit release of the coupling link. i I

Fig. 4 represents a plan view of the lever and latch, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 22, of Fig. 2. l

The coupling device as a complete structure consists of very few parts and may be stated to-comprise a'draft'element or frame A, which may advantageously be made in the form of an open triangular shape casting formed at its broadest portion with a pair'of eyes B, providing means for pivotally connecting the said frame to a trailer or other drawn vehicle.

The forward restricted portion C, of the frame is formed with a draft hook D, and a web E, depending from which web and forward portion are a pair of lugs F, forming a casing or housing on the under side of the restricted portion of the frame adjacent the draft hook.

In the casing near the draft hook, is placed a pin G, forming a mounting for the latch H, which latch is limited in its downward movement by a stop or abutment J, and in its upward movement by a stop or abutment J, formed upon the casing, while the other end of the latch is provided with a toothed segmental portion H, engaging the segmental toothed portion K, on the manually operated lever K, mounted upon the pin or pivot L, said lever being limited in its movement by stops M formed thereon and M of said casing.

The operation of my coupling will be readily understood from the description taken in connection with the drawings and by reference to Figs. 1 and 2 it will be apparent that the draft link or eye upon the tractor or other draft vehicle is confined within the hook D by means of the latch H, and when the parts are in this position a reliable coupling is assured, but accommodating movement is permitted, and when found necessary to uncouple or release the trailer from the tractor it is simply necessary to lift the manually operated lever K, which causes the segmental rack K thereon to engage the segmental rack H, of the latch H, the effect of which is to raise the latch H from the full line position to the dotted line position illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, whichclears the latch from the hook and the entire draft member and hook may then be raised by the hand lever to effect an instant uncoupling of the hook. Thus while the uncoupling is effected in this manner, the coupling operation is carried out by lowering the hook into engagement with draft link and moving the lever tov bring the latch to the position shown in Fig. 2 to confine and retain the link within the draft hook.

It will thus be seen that I provide a draft coupling which can be instantly coupled and released; which consists of very few parts, insuring simplicity, durability and cheapness of production; which will prevent accidental uncoupling, but will permit movement within necessary limits to adapt the coupling to any character of road surface and which in other particulars is entirely efficient and practical.

I claim 1. A draft coupling, consisting of a draft member, a hook carried by said member, a casing carried by said member and provided with a pair of pivot pins, a latch with teeth upon one surface thereof, a manually operated lever pivoted upon the other pin and formed with teeth on one surface thereof meshing with the teeth of said latch, whereby the movements of the latch are controlled by the operation of said lever in effecting coupling and release movements.

2. A draft coupling, consisting of a draft member, a hook carried by said member, a casing carried by said member and pro vided with a pair of pivot pins, a latch mounted upon one of said pins and formed with teeth upon one surface thereof, a manually operated lever pivoted upon the other pin and formed with teeth on one surface thereof meshing with the teeth of said latch, whereby the movements of the latch are controlled by the operation of said lever, and means in the casing forming abutments to limit the movements of said latch and lever. v

3. A draft coupling, consisting of a triangular shaped draft member provided with eyes in two vertices whereby the member may be pivotally attached to a vehicle, a hook formed at the other vertex of the member, lugs depending from the member adjacent the last mentioned vertex, a latch for closing the opening to the hook pivotally mounted between the lugs, a segmental rack formed on the latch, a manually operable lever pivotally mounted be tween the lugs and a segmental rack formed on the lever and engaging with the rack of the latch the said lever operable to first lift the latch and then lift the draft member.

FREDERICK J. TRUMPOUR. 

